The present application relates to gaming and particularly to card games for entertainment, and gambling including for casino gambling.
Individual players and groups have historically engaged in many types of card games for entertainment and gambling. The standard deck of 52 playing cards including each of the set of ace, two-ten, jack, queen and king, in each of four suits including diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades is the basis of many known varieties of many different card games. The playing and outcome of some card games is dictated entirely by chance typically by the random selection of particular cards from a deck. But most card games provide opportunities for players having some degree of skill to increase their likelihood of winning a game against other lesser skilled players or against a dealer representing a casino, i.e., xe2x80x9cthe house.xe2x80x9d Such skill usually involves memory, quick thinking and/or knowledge of probabilities that various card combinations are held by others or by the dealer.
For many years, varieties of a few common card games such as, for example, poker and black-jack, have been most popular for entertainment, informal gambling and casino gambling. Casino gambling including gambling on card games has become an enormous industry earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Highly skilled players engage in championship tournaments which attract worldwide interest and competition.
A large percentage of casino patrons, however, are not highly skilled. Such patrons often prefer games that are easy to learn but still reward some degree of skill. Many casino patrons are intimidated by the competition or bored with traditional card games and therefore enjoy new card games that are periodically introduced at casinos. To remain competitive, casinos must continuously introduce new games which are preferably exciting, easy to learn and which reward some degree of skill.
The present invention comprises a card game combining elements of chance and skill. The game can be played with one or more standard deck of 52 playing cards. To enter the game, each player must commit to making a set of equal valued bets. A dealer distributes a plurality of cards face up to each player and a plurality of cards face down to himself. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the number of cards distributed to the dealer equals the number of cards distributed to each player. Cards having a rank of deuce through ten represent corresponding point values. Face cards, i.e. King, Queen and Jack each represent a point value of ten. Players holding an ace choose whether it represents a point value of one or eleven for any given bet.
After dealing a set of cards to each player, the dealer turns each of his cards face up, one card at a time. Players must discard the cards they are holding which have the same rank regardless of rank of a card turned over by the dealer immediately after the dealer turns over his card.
Players must try to predict whether the sum of point values associated with the cards remaining in their hand will be within a predetermined high range or a predetermined low range when the game is finished. Each player commits, i.e. places, a certain number of bets before cards are dealt. The player then adjusts, i.e. moves a first bet immediately after his hand is dealt and adjusts each subsequent bet after each additional card is turned over by the dealer. Bets are adjusted by identifying the bet as a HIGH bet or a LOW bet according to whether the player predicts that the final sum in his hand to be within the predetermined high or low range respectively. Alternatively, the player may split his bet by designating half of the bet as a HIGH bet and half of his bet as a LOW bet. When each of the dealer""s cards has been turned face up, players total the point value represented by all of the cards remaining in their hand. If a player""s total remaining point value is within the predetermined high range, the player collects winnings for each of the HIGH bets that he had indicated. If the player""s total remaining point value is within the predetermined low range, the player collects winnings for each of the LOW bets that he had indicated. If a player holds at least one ace and his total remaining point value can be within both the HIGH and LOW ranges, then the player will collect additional winnings for each of his split bets.
Winning amounts can be equal to or multiples of the amount of the players individual bets. Various embodiments of the game include additional payout amounts when a player""s hand includes particular card combinations. Further embodiments include a game which includes a bonus bet which pays additional winnings for any number of possible bonus conditions.
The present invention overcomes disadvantages of the prior art by featuring a game that is suitable for use in casinos and easy for unskilled players to learn. The game according to the various embodiments of the present invention is fun to play and rewards a level of skill that is easily attainable by most casino patrons.